OnStar Reaches One Billion Customer Interactions

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OnStar has reached a landmark. General Motors and OnStar announced the service has topped one billion customer interactions through the service, launched 19 years ago.

OnStar had humble beginnings as an industry-first technology allowing the vehicle to phone for assistance in the event airbags deployed after a crash. Today, many things have changed, though, the core of OnStar is to still ensure a safer driving experience with a slew on onboard tech.

OnStar provides turn-by-turn navigation assistance, loading directions directly to the car, sends information on a vehicle’s health via email and may also aid law enforcement through Stolen Vehicle Assistance, and can even slow down a vehicle being pursued.

The service released statistics on the one billion interactions, which are broken down in the infographic below.

A customer contacts OnStar every two seconds for assistance, making up five million calls a month from the seven million people subscribed to the service.

“OnStar created the original connected car in 1996 and today remains at the forefront of innovation through the services offered in Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and soon, Opel vehicles around the globe,” said Alicia Boler-Davis, senior vice president, General Motors Global Connected Customer Experience.

“We need to provide an overall customer experience that will keep customers coming back for life,” said Boler-Davis. “To do that, we need to meet customers on their terms and offer them a variety of choices. We realize every customer is different.”

What began as a simple safety system is poised to continue growing even faster after the service’s initial one billion mark. There’s no telling where OnStar may expand into next.

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— Sean Szymkowski

Sean is a lead staff writer for GM Authority. The words above are fueled by passion and large amounts of caffeine. Find him on Instagram: @helloimseann

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1 Comment

For a great number of younger GM car owners this OnStar service will simply be little/too late to the game. But then I watch GM installing this thing no matter what. And that makes me wonder.

Is GM clueless about tech… or are we clueless about GM’s in-tech-tions?

Clueless in that OnStar’s endgame might not be just the services it currently offers. That it is waiting until it has such a massive POTENTIAL customer base that it can suddenly SPRING a brand new product that’s innovative and outright irresistible.

Why would you switch from AT&T or Verizon to OnStar? How about perks and pricing? For starters, you get the AT&T network (at current rates) plus ALL OnStar services for free. I’ll make it even crazier. If you’re already an AT&T Customer and you already have an OnStar vehicle, it’s automatic without as much a penny more a year for your phone.

That’s one way to do it. Another is for GM to buy or relationship up with someone like T-Mobile. Potentially rebrand T-Mobile as G-Mobile. 😉 So if you buy a GM car you could opt for a more affordable phone service than AT&T or Verizon. The catch? That GM car for all the OnStar perks. Don’t have a GM car? GM (tries) to make money off the phone service.

Please don’t pick these specific ideas apart too much because I’m merely spit-balling. What I’m feeling here is that if it’s true that kids are all about phones and cars that are tech crazed, OnStar is positioned really REALLY well IF they had some killer new product to associate WITH OnStar.